26 dec 2005Samuelson: In the short run the dollar appreciates...

26 dec 2005
Samuelson: In the short run the dollar appreciates relative to the Euro and Yen. That can last for as long as those countries recycle eagerly their trade surpluses with the US into holding dollar assets (Such as low-yielding American Treasury bonds). Be not misled. So strong and irreversible are America?s balance of payments deficits, we must accept that at some future date there will be a run against the dollar. Probably the kind of disorderly run that precipitates a global financial crisis.

President Bush is a reckless economist, leading a reckless crew of subordinates. Spending on a hopeless imperialist caper in Iraq, plus Bush's giving away to the rich much of America's tax base, will eventually depreciate the American dollar. Those abroad who now gladly hold dollar assets will then reap the capital losses that they are not now expecting